How Could You?
by Paper Coffee Cup
Summary: Draco broke up with Neville after an event that left them both devastated. Now, after 4 years, a faithful event reunites them whether they like it or not.
1. Prologue

**How Could You?**

**by The Torn Apart Paper Yoyo**

DISCLAIMER- _If I owned it, this is exactly how it would have gone. *Sigh* Instead they are straight and dead._

**PROLOGUE**

Draco Malfoy slammed the door behind him as he entered the apartment he shared with his boyfriend of eight years, Neville Longbottom. He was sure that his two-timing excuse for a boyfriend would be there. He nearly turned the whole apartment upside down looking for him. After about an hour of looking, he stretched out down in the bed and let his desolation annex him.

An hour later, Neville arrived home. He'd seen the look of hatred and betrayal on his boyfriends face and decided to leave him to cool down and clear his head a bit. He was shocked to find their shared apartment in ruins. His first thought was that some of the remaining Death Eaters had broken in and hurt Draco. However, when he checked the magical signature, he found that Draco was responsible for their apartment looking as if a bomb had hit it.

Nothing could have prepared Neville for the sight that he saw when he entered their bedroom. Draco curled up into a little ball on the bed. Looking as pasty faced and vulnerable as ever having obviously cried himself to sleep. He decided that since it was getting late and Draco had probably not eaten, he would cook Draco's favourite to make up for what he'd done.

When he had finished cooking the Sheppard's Pie, Neville went back into their room to wake Draco.

"Dray..." he said quietly from the door, moving further into the room when Draco didn't even stir. "Dray, honey, it's time to wake up..." he whispered, shaking his boyfriends' arm lightly to wake him up. Draco rolled over mumbling under his breath about how Neville should leave. "Dray, wake up, dinner's ready" he told him, "come have something to eat." Draco sat up, saying that he'd be out soon and that Neville should go and dish up dinner.

When Draco went out for dinner, he couldn't even bear to look at Neville after what he'd seen at the restraint earlier. It was evident to Draco that Neville had cleaned up the apartment after his temper tantrum. However, he didn't speak of it. In fact, he didn't speak at all. He just sat there, staring at his plate and ate. As soon as Draco had finished eating, he got up and washed his dishes before returning to their bedroom.

Once Neville had finished eating, he followed Draco to their room to talk about what had happened at lunchtime only to find Draco packing his trunk.

"Dray, wh... what are you doing?" Neville asked slightly baffled.

"I'm packing Neville." Draco told him coldly, "what does it look like?"

"I can see that Draco," Neville snapped back, "why?"

"Did you honestly expect me not to?" Draco yelled, "After you embarrassed me in front of my boss. After you publicly cheated on me with Harry Bloody Potter. After everything we've been through together, you couldn't even bother to pick up the phone and break up with me."

"Draco!" Neville yelled interrupting his boyfriend "Do you honestly think so little of me? Do you honestly think I'd cheat on you? Especially with a friend who is engaged...?"

"I don't know what to think anymore Neville!" Draco bellowed slamming his trunk lid shut. "I'm going to be at Malfoy Manor with mother for the next few days, after that I don't know. But give me a few days to cool down after this betrayal."

"Dray, we can talk about this." Neville yelled going after him as he moved towards the door,.

"No Neville, we can't." Draco told him, "I... I... I need to go." He said aparating home to Malfoy Manor.

XXX

AUTHORS NOTE- _Please Review because this is my first SLASH story._

_The Torn Apart Paper Yoyo._


	2. Draco’s Reaction to the News

**How Could You?**

**by The Torn Apart Paper Yoyo**

DISCLAIMER- If I owned it, this is exactly how it would have gone. *Sigh* Instead they are straight and dead.

**CHAPTER **_**1**__**- Draco's Reaction to the News**_

Narcissa Malfoy was the first to notice that her son had returned home. She'd heard the 'pop' of someone aparating closely followed by a heartbreaking sob of someone in agony. She followed the noise downstairs to find Draco crumpled on the Entrance Hall floor virtually falling apart.

"Draco." She screamed, running towards her son, knowing that something serious must have happened. "What happened? Is it Neville?" at the sound of his lovers name, Draco released a heart wrenching cry. "Draco, son, talk to me!" the only answer she got was another sob. "Draco! Talk to me! Please!" she screamed as she pulled her son into her arms, hoping that her son would give her a reply that would tell her what was wrong.

When Narcissa realised that she was not going to get any information out of her son, she did the only thing she could think of

"Lucius" she yelled desperately for her husband. "Lucius! come quickly, something's happened to Draco!"

When he heard that something had happened to his heir, Lucius hurriedly left the study praying that his wife had been exaggerating.

"Narcissa," he yelled as he descended the main staircase, "What happened?" was all he could ask when he reached the bottom and saw his son literally falling apart in his wife's arms.

"I don't know Lucius, he was like this when he arrived." She told her husband.

"Draco, son, what happened?" he asked hoping for an answer.

Draco gripped onto his father like he was the strongest man in the world. "N...Nev...Neville." Draco said desperately looking up at his father.

"What happened to him son," Lucius asked unsure, already dreading the answer.  
"He...he...he...he..." unable to bring himself to say it, he opted for another choice, "I. Hate. Him!" Draco managed to scream before crumbling back into a poor defenceless child.

"We need to find out what happened." Lucius told his wife, "I can't even begin to imagine what happened between them."

"I'll floo to their apartment now. I know that Draco is okay here with you, but what about..." Narcissa glanced pointedly at her son before looking back to her husband, mouthing the other boys name to her husband. "... he lost all of his remaining family in the Battle of Hogwarts nine years ago. We're all the family he has now."

"I was about to suggest that. I know how you care for the boy. Go over and make sure he's okay. I'll stay here with Draco." He told his wife, allowing some of his care and worry for both boys to show through his eyes.

"Draco honey," she said to her son, "there are a few things that I need to go and do, I'll be back later." Narcissa kissed her sons' forehead before moving into her husbands' study to floo to her sons' shared Cardiff apartment.

AUTHORS NOTE- _Can you please review if you are reading this because I can see that this story has been visited a lot, however I have yet to receive a review and am unsure as to whether or not it is worth continuing._


	3. Neville’s Reaction to Draco’s Reaction

**How Could You?**

**by The Torn Apart Paper Yoyo**

DISCLAIMER- _If I owned it, this is exactly how it would have gone. *Sigh* Instead they are straight and dead._

AUTHORS NOTE- J_ust to let you know that I have gone changed the prologue so that Harry is now engaged instead of married with a baby on the way. It just made more it easier that way. I hope you enjoy _

**CHAPTER 2**_**- Neville's Reaction to Draco's Reaction**_

The only thing Neville could do when Draco left was stand there. Shocked. _He...left...Draco...had left...was no longer here._ The words just raced through his mind. And then it hit him. _Draco... was gone_. That was all it took for the reality to come crushing down on him.

Neville fell to the floor in complete hysterics. _His whole world, was gone_. Neville clawed at his bedroom floor in a desperate need to just see his lover again. Even just a seconds glimpse. He had nothing now. No grandparents, no parents, no more Draco.

And that was when he spotted it. The corner was barely visible from beneath the lime green quilt. He gripped at it and pulled. It was a photo of him and Draco. It showed off a time when they were completely enamoured with each other. Of a happier time and place. A place he longed to be at.

As if in automatic mode, Neville mechanically stood up without taking his eyes from the photo and walked into the lounge room, falling onto the sofa that Draco had insisted the buy. It hurt. So he just sat there staring at the photo of the two boys in another time. He couldn't stand to look at the picture, but he couldn't tear his eyes away.

Neville stared at the painful photo, tears forming in his eyes. _This wasn't how it was supposed to be. It wasn't right_. Neville could only feel sicker, and sicker. He needed Draco. He ached for him.

So he did all that he could bare to. He just sat there, unable to move...unable to feel. His eyes were overflowing with tears. He just sat there and stared.

And that was how Narcissa Malfoy found him. Sitting on the sofa staring at the photo of her son and the boy. She remembered when the photo was taken. It was the first summer after the war and Draco had bought Neville home with him. They had been such a cute couple and no matter how much Narcissa and her husband disagreed with the relationship, they had accepted it.

And now she had two lovesick boys who were both falling apart with their obvious need for their other half. It was heartbreaking.

"Neville, sweetheart..." she said walking over to the boy she saw as a second son. "...Neville, What happened?" she asked, sitting next to the boy that looked devoid of any emotion and putting her arms around him to try and comfort him in any way that she could. When Neville felt arms around him, he lost what little control he had left on his emotions.

XXX

After he had cried himself to sleep a few hours later, Narcissa fire-called her husband.

"How is he?" Lucius asked.

"He's not good. When i arrived he was just sitting on the couch staring at a photo of them both, but when I tried to comfort him, he just held onto me and cried himself to sleep." She informed him sadly. "How's Draco holding up?"

"He just cried, and cried until he'd exhausted himself into sleep. I don't know what happened between those two, but it was bad." He told his wife. "Are you staying there tonight, or coming home?"

"I want to come home, Luc, I really do. But i'm going to stay here tonight. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay Cissy, I'll see you when you get home."

XXX

Narcissa was awoken from her place on the couch by a knocking noise at the door. Answering it, she was shocked to find Harry Potter.

"Can I help you?" she asked him.

"I...uh...wanted to see what Draco said when Neville..." he trailed off realising that something must have gone wrong for Narcissa to be there. "What happened?"

"Draco and Neville had a massive fight last night, the result is two heartbroken boys falling apart at the seams." She informed him sadly, noting how shocked Harry looked.

"But...but...no...it can't be, you're lying." He couldn't understand it, he'd spoken to Neville the day before, he knew what Neville was planning. "How's Neville, is he okay?"

"What do you think Potter?" Narcissa asked coldly. "He cried himself to sleep"

"Poor Nev, I can't believe that Draco said 'no'" Harry stated sincerely.

"What do you mean 'Draco said no'? he arrived at the manor last night in hysterics claiming that he hated Neville." She was confused now, it didn't make sense. She glared at Harry when she heard his sharp intake of breath. "What do you know?" she asked as she let him in and started making him a coffee as he spoke.

"I had lunch with Neville yesterday, and he was bouncing ideas about how he was going to propose to Draco last night of me." He stopped when he realised what must have happened. "When Draco came in with his boss, the look on his face when he saw us looked so betrayed. I didn't understand it even when he excused himself and ran out with tears in his eyes. But I get it now, Draco must have thought that Neville was cheating on him with me." Harry looked up and thanked Narcissa as he handed him a coffee.

"But I don't get it. Why didn't Nev just propose to Dray instead of watching him pack his things and leave?" She asked him sitting on the chair beside his.

"I suppose he thought that he would look desperate if he did." She suggested sadly. "Don't forget how much family his lost."

"You have a point there." She looked at her watch sadly. "Well I'd better go and see how Draco is and try to get it into his head that Neville wasn't cheating on him. I'll speak to you later and see how Neville is." She said standing and going to was her cup in the sink.

"I'll do it." Harry insisted, "You go and look after Draco."

XXX

AUTHORS NOTE- _Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far I really appreciate it._

_The Torn Apart Paper Yoyo._


	4. And Life Goes On

**How Could You?**

**by The Torn Apart Paper Yoyo**

DISCLAIMER- If I owned it, this is exactly how it would have gone. *Sigh* Instead they are straight and dead.

AUTHORS NOTE- J_ust to let you know that I have gone changed the prologue so that Harry is now engaged instead of married with a baby on the way. It just made more it easier that way. I hope you enjoy _

_Wow second chapter in a day. _

**CHAPTER 3**_**- And Life Goes On**_

As the years passed, Draco got on with his life as much as he could. There was no denying in any of his friends' mind that there would always be a hole in Draco's heart where Neville had been.

Draco broke off all contact with his Gryffindor friends and became closer to Luna as the time passed. Draco's friends were soon at the silent agreement that no matter what happened, they would never mention Neville in Draco's presence again, although they often spoke to Luna about the boy's deteriorating health.

XXX

The hardest part for Draco was that his mother liked to keep an eye on Neville and would often be at their old apartment for days at a time before returning home and discussing it with his father at the dinner table afterwards.

Despite popular belief, these times bought a sense of relief to Draco because he could tune in or out depending on how he felt. It was through these conversations that he learnt that Neville had stopped eating for weeks on end before his mother was forced to admit him to St. Mungo's while he recovered before repeating the process over again.

It was also during these conversations that he learnt that his mother had been called away to the hospital in the middle of the night because Neville had jumped off the _Pont-y-Werin pedestrian and cycle bridge_ after raving on about how the "flying monkeys were out to get him" after which his mother had bought the boy home to the manor for a week to recover from his near death experience.

That small week was the only time Draco ever saw Neville since their break up nearly two and a half years earlier. He had only seen his ex-lover during meals in that week and he knew for a fact that he only came out of the guest room then because it was compulsory for meals to be attended. As much as he tried, Draco could never get the haunting image of Neville out of his mind.

He was now sickly ashen white and his once coffee brown eyes were more of a russet colour making the brittleness of his hair more obvious. But none of the changes in his features was more obvious than his change in weight, where he was once a healthy weight, he was now skin and bone.

It was during the times that he reflected on Neville's declining health that he thought that maybe he was wrong all those years ago to just leave him without hearing his side of the story. He'd even regretted it. He always loved his Nev, always would. But he'd never be able to trust him like he did.

Some levels of betrayal hurt too much.

Draco could never understand Luna's relationship with Harry. He had even gone as far as to tell her why he and Neville had broken up to save her heart from being broken. But all she'd said was_; "Didn't you ever wonder if it was just an innocent lunch together with no ulterior motive?"_ and he had. For the first five minutes.

And life goes on...

XXX

Instead of getting better as the time passed, Neville just seemed to get worse and worse.

His friends had tried everything they could think of at first. But then one day, he just disappeared. When he finally gave in and called Narcissa, Draco had picked up the phone and he couldn't do it, he couldn't talk to Draco. So he just hung up, waited 10 minutes and tried again. After about the tenth try he guessed that Draco must have figured out it was him because he stopped answering and Lucius answered the phone instead.

Neville kept on trying and trying, each time hoping that Narcissa would be the one to answer the phone. When after three hours, his plan still hadn't worked he decided to just act like a normal human being and ask for hner. He was cold, wet, tired and scared and he just wanted to go home.

"Hello?" it was Lucius again and he sounded pissed off.

"Cissy?" was all he could say. Lucius put the phone on loud speaker instead so that all of Neville's friends and his reluctant ex-lover could hear him.

"Neville?" she asked uncertainly. "Is that you?"

"Yes..." he paused as if he was about to say something, and then it happened, "_Ahhh...Help...The monkeys...they're coming to get me...and they're flying...they're coming...ahhh...ahhh...HELP...PLEASE...I WANT TO GO HOME...I WANT MY LIFE BACK...PLEASE...I WANT MY MUMMY... PLEASE...PLEASE...HELP ME...PLEASE... THE MONKEYS...PLEASE...THEY'RE FLY_" Neville was screaming like a madman at the top of his lungs and then it just stopped.

No one in the Malfoy Manor's dining room could move. They were all too shocked. Too worried. As everyone started to recover from the shock, the noticed Draco stand from where he'd been sitting near the phone and leave.

It was final. Any hope or reserves in his mind was gone. The young man he'd loved and cared for was gone, replaced by a mad man. And for the first time since they'd broken up, Draco cried.

And life goes on...

XXX

Draco heard through his mother a few weeks later that Neville was back and well on the way to recovery in the Psychiatric Ward at St. Mungos, and as much as he hated to admit it, it was the right thing to do. Neville needed if he was ever to be the man he had fallen in love with again.

He had gone to the hospital to see him in the dead of night once. He was in his bed, rolling and turning and yelling for help, his help. Draco visited the hospital every night for the rest of the year to watch him sleep. He'd thought about going during the day once, but when he'd discussed it with his mother she had advised against it saying; "_Neville may appear to be the same person you fell in love with by night, but during the day, he's still the raving mad man that thinks that the flying monkeys are after him_" so he hadn't gone.

Four and a half years after their break-up, Neville had been released from hospital with a clean bill of health.

And life goes on...

XXX

AUTHORS NOTE- _So what did you think? This was sort of a filler chapter to see how their life went on..._


	5. The Wedding

**How Could You?**

**by The Torn Apart Paper Yoyo**

DISCLAIMER- If I owned it, this is exactly how it would have gone. *Sigh* Instead they are straight and dead.

AUTHORS NOTE- _This is the story back on track._

**CHAPTER 4**_**- The Wedding.**_

It was at the Wedding reception of Luna and Harry Potter that he saw him next. Draco was he was looking healthier than he had been the last time he had seen him. He would almost go as far as to say he was as healthy as he had been when they were together.

Draco walked around the tables until he found his seat, right beside Neville. He didn't know whether to be upset or relieved, only time would tell. In the end he decided to stay socialising with the other guests until it was time to sit down.

That was when it happened.

When Neville sat down, Draco said the first thing that came to his mind; "Didn't know you'd be here." it was nothing more than a single offhanded comment.

"Yes well, I just couldn't wait to see the...what was it?.. oh yeah _love of my life_ get married." Neville told him scathingly.

"It was just a _comment_, Neville, take a chill pill!" Draco bit back harshly.

'Yeah, and it was _just_ two _friends _catching up over _lunch_, Draco." Neville told him harshly.

"What I saw didn't look like that to me, _Neville_, you were practically in each others' _pants_!" Draco told him disdainfully, raising his voice so that the people around them could clearly hear the words 'Neville' and 'Pants'.

"Yes well if you must know, _Draco_, I didn't expect you to be there and I thought that if you were, you wouldn't be such a _drama queen_ and totally _overreact_." Neville bit back contemptuously

"Me? I was not the _drama queen _that night, _you_ were!" Draco told him raising his voice more and more.

"You want me to be a drama queen?" Neville asked sardonically, raising his voice. "'Cause I'll be a drama queen. Oh woe is me! My boyfriend of _eight_ _years_ just left me for his boss. Oh woe is me! How about I re-enact you now?" Neville paused to get a drink, not noticing that the whole reception of guests, as well as the bride and groom were silent in shock. They had spent five years trying to find out from both of the boys why they had broken up, and here they were yelling about it. " Oh woe is me! I've just seen my boyfriend having lunch with his best friend, and he didn't tell me he was going to. Oh woe is me! He must be cheating on me. Oh woe is me!"

"When have I ever said 'oh woe is me" Neville?" Draco asked him scathingly.

"That's it!" Harry exclaimed, standing up from his seat at the head table and walking over to where the two boys were arguing, recruiting his friend Ron on the way. "you take Neville, I'll take Draco." He told his friend quietly, trying to tune out the sound of Draco and Neville's yelling.

"What are we going to do with them, Harry?" Ron asked just as quietly.

"We're taking their wands and locking them in the coat closet." He replied before he took hold of Draco and Ron took hold of Neville, and they pushed them in to the coat closet and _acio_ed their wands, before closing the door and locking it.

XXX

AUTHORS NOTE- _Now it's time to be really nice and make my day by reviewing._

_The Torn Apart Paper Yoyo._


	6. Inside The Coat Closet

**How Could You?**

**by The Torn Apart Paper Yoyo**

DISCLAIMER- _If I owned it, this is exactly how it would have gone. *Sigh* Instead they are straight and dead._

**CHAPTER 5**_**- Inside the Coat Closet**_

When the door closed, Neville felt around for a light to turn on before sitting down to watch Draco pound at the door with all his might.

"You may as well stop. It's not going to work." Neville told him quietly.

"Whatever!"Draco exclaimed before sitting down next to Neville. They just sat there in silence. There wasn't anything between them to talk about anymore.

"I never stopped you know." Draco said absently after a while.

"What?" Neville asked.

"Loving you." He replied quietly, "I did try though, I could ignore you, curse you, pretend you were just gone for a while. But I couldn't hate you."

"I kept loving you too." Neville told him just as quietly. "I went crazy from it after a while. It was like one minute there was us and the next it was you and me. It hurt.

"What about the flying monkeys?" Draco asked softly, sliding closer to the other boy.

"Do you remember fifth year?" Neville asked uncertainly, and waited for Draco to nod, "When we had our carrier interviews, you said you wanted to conquer the world with flying monkeys. My psychiatrist told me that I may have subconsciously associated flying monkeys with you, and that I may have subconsciously thought that you wanted revenge for what happened between us and that you were going to send you flying monkeys to come and kill me." He finished looking down at his lap.

"Nev," Draco said tenderly pulling the boy into his arms. "I would never send my flying monkeys to kill you...I love you too much to do that. Ask mother, I visited you every night that you were in St. Mungo's and watch you sleep."

"You...you did?" Neville asked looking up at him.

"Yes, you always spoke in your sleep. Always saying something along the lines off; _'Dray, pull them off'_ it never made sense until now." He paused for a moment unsure of whether to continue or not. "Can I ask you something Nev, you don't have to answer if you don't want to..."

"Just ask the question Dray." He exclaimed.

"What...what really happened that day? I was so caught up in thinking you'd cheated on me that I didn't even give you a chance to explain, and I've been thinking a lot lately that If I'd just given you the chance to speak we would never have broken up." Draco mumbled quietly.

"I...I was just speaking to Harry. That night you left...I...I..." He stopped to catch his breath and prepare for what he was about to tell the _true_ love of his life, "I was going to ask you to marry me." He rushed out quickly, Looking down at his lap to avoid embarrassment.

"Will you?" Draco asked him quietly, putting his fingers under Neville's chin to lift his head so he could look into the love of his life's eyes.

"Will I what Dray?" Neville asked him confused. Ked

"Marry me?" Draco asked him confidently.

"Are you Serious?" Neville asked him in shock.

"Um...no...but I'm sure I could find him in the reception somewhere." He replied jokingly.

"Oh My God! You are!" Nev exclaimed, his mouth dropping open when Draco nodded.

"Well?" Draco asked nervously.

"Yes!" Neville replied trowing his arms around Draco.

"Thank Merlin." Draco mumbled before pulling his fiancé into a mind-blowing kiss.

XXX

AUTHORS NOTE- _This is the end of __**'How Could You'**__ I hope that everyone who has read this story has enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. _

_A special thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, you make my day_

_Now click on that pretty review button and write a review._

_The Torn Apart Paper Yoyo._


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